Hezbollah has said it launched a major drone and rocket attack targeting several Israeli military bases amid growing fears of an all-out war between the Lebanese armed group and Israel.
It was the largest attack by the Iran-aligned group since the outbreak of violence between the two sides on October 8, a Hezbollah source told Al Jazeera Arabic on Thursday.
The group said the attack in northern Israel was in retaliation for the assassination of senior commander Taleb Abdullah – known as Abu Taleb – in an Israeli air raid in the southern Lebanese village of Jouaiya earlier this week.
The source said the “compound attack” also aimed to establish deterrence after the killing of Abdullah.
The Lebanese group used 150 rockets and 30 explosive drones to target 15 Israeli positions, including some in the occupied Golan Heights, the source said.
Israeli media outlets reported that Hezbollah rockets wounded at least two people and started 15 fires.
The Israeli military said in a post on X that “numerous” launches were intercepted and that some ignited fires.
In an official statement, Hezbollah said the operation was “in support of the steadfast Palestinian people and their courageous and honourable resistance in Gaza and in the context of the response to the assassination that the Zionist enemy carries out in Jouaiyya”.
One of the Israeli units targeted in the attack is responsible for planning assassinations, Hezbollah said.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah had also fired a barrage of 200 rockets at Israel.
There have been near-constant reports of rocket sirens being activated in northern Israel since Abdullah was killed along with three other fighters late on Tuesday.
Hezbollah does not reveal details about its military structure or ranks, but Abdullah was only the second slain fighter from the group to be eulogised as a “commander” in the past months – after Wissam al-Tawil, who was killed in an Israeli attack in January.
Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad paid tribute to Abdullah on Wednesday, lauding his efforts to confront Israel.
Hezbollah started attacking military bases in northern Israel after the outbreak of the war on Gaza in what it says is a “support front” to back Palestinian armed groups.
Israel has responded by bombing villages across south Lebanon and targeting Hezbollah’s positions. Despite the near-daily exchange of fire, the confrontations have largely been limited to the border area.
Tens of thousands of people in south Lebanon and northern Israel have fled their homes to escape the violence.
Late last month, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah portrayed the Lebanese front with Israel as historically decisive.
